


Woodsmoke

by community_gardens



Category: Adventure Time
Genre: F/F, Maybe - Freeform, Post-Sky Witch, fluff?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:47:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23551795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/community_gardens/pseuds/community_gardens
Summary: Bonnie deals with the loss of her rock shirt after the events of 'Sky Witch'. Or, well, her way of dealing with it.
Relationships: Princess Bubblegum/Marceline
Comments: 6
Kudos: 208





	Woodsmoke

**Author's Note:**

> Just a disclaimer; I haven't written fanfiction in like 4 years but I couldn't get this scene out of my head lmao. Hope I got the characters at least semi-decent.
> 
> Criticism is welcome but please be constructive !

Bonnibel hadn't noticed before how scratchy her purple sweater was. The absence of the old rock t-shirt was made all the more apparent as she felt the incessant itchiness of the rough fabric over her skin. She felt...colder. More exposed. The wind cut through her as if the comforting presence had been the only thing keeping her warm before. She knew logically that she was overreacting, the shirt being gone barely had an effect on the temperature. She _knew_ that. But despite herself, Bonnie couldn't help the feeling of loss from blooming inside her chest. 

Her hands reflexively tighten around Marceline. The scent of strawberries and woodsmoke would normally be reassuring, but now all it was was a reminder of something she'd never get back. Bitterly, Bonnibel lays her head against Marceline's back and shuts her eyes tightly. Perhaps for a moment she could pretend that everything was fine. The princess sucks in a breath, sighing lightly against the cold air. The rest of the trip was spent in a delicate silence, Bonnie forcing herself to focus on the slow rocking of Marceline's flight. 

It was nearly evening by the time the pair touched down on one of the castle's window sills. Bonnie slid from the vampire's back, wincing as her feet hit solid ground. 

"Thanks for coming, Peebs… it means a lot to me" a tired but happy Marceline glanced away, Hambo held possessively in her arms. Bonnibel glared at the toy childishly, and for a moment it looked as if that would be all. Slowly, though, the vampire leaned over to catch Bonnibel in a hug. The princess leaned into her after a moment, probably holding on just a little too tight. 

"No problem Marcy," to Bonnie's relief, her voice was surprisingly stable. With that, the vampire grinned and gave a mock salute, falling backwards out the window. Bonnibel stood there looking out the window for a few moments after Marceline disappeared from sight, at last letting out a slow sigh. It was then that she should have made her way up to her bed chambers, if she hadn't found herself nearly tripping over a banana guard. Oh, right. Bonnie appraised her champions with a sigh, seeing as they were still crumpled in a snoring heap before her. She giggled lightly at the sight, briefly considering leaving them there before she decided that it would be best to wake them. The position didn't seem all too comfortable after all. 

"Wake up, you goofs. Nap times over," she mumbles, shaking the group gently into awareness. 

"PB?" Finn yawns, blinking owlishly at her from his spot on the floor. "What happened?" 

Jake groans lightly, curling in on himself before mumbling "five more minutes…" under his breath. 

Bubblegum takes a moment to laugh quietly before turning to Peppermint Butler "make sure these dweebs get home Pepbutt, I'm off to bed." 

"As you wish, princess" came the reply from the little candy. She sends him a grateful look before turning to the hall. Despite telling herself it's alright, Bonnibel couldn't help the growing sense of apprehension coiling in her gut as she drew closer to the room. 

Her chambers were exactly as she had left them. She stood transfixed, staring at her bed for a few moments before wrenching her gaze from it. Bonnibel shivered. It felt so inexplicably empty here now. Still, Bonnibel Bubblegum was never one to give in, so she made her way over to her closet. She made a point not to look at the picture tapped there, instead opting to rummage through her clothes for a replacement nightshirt. Every article of clothing her hands settled on sent unease through her, the agitation building in the pit of her stomach with every pristine shirt she held. They were all too stiff, too rough. New. The princess couldn't help but recall the soft, time-worn fabric of her rock shirt. The faint smell of laundry detergent sickened her. 

Jolting up from her position, Bonnibel steps back a few paces, a sickly panic gnawing at her. Didn't she have some lab work to do? Yes, right. She was working on reinforcing the candy walls of her kingdom. She should probably go work on that, now that she thinks about it. Best to always be prepared, after all. 

Decided, Bubblegum turns on her heel and abandons her room one more, throwing on a lab coat in the process. The smell of chemicals greeted her as she entered the pristine, clinical lab environment. The princess nearly sagged in relief before scrambling to throw herself into a pile of research papers. Flipping through a particularly messy leaf of them she nods "right… reinforced candy polymers." 

* * *

A quiet melody tumbled from Marceline's lips as she flew, quickly being whisked away by the wind. The sun was freshly set and the little candy houses below her were dark and quiet, like childrens dollhouses discarded at night. She wasn't particularly interested in them, though. Her attention was held by the imposing shape at the kingdom's center. Or, rather, who resided there. The gumball guardians barely batted an eye as she flitted by them, long having grown used to her late night visits. With a silent grace the vampire alighted upon the candy monarch's windowsill, knocking lightly on the wall as she did so.

"Yo, Bonnie. You would not believe-" she pauses, realizing that the room was abandoned. "Tch. Figures." Marceline stuffs her hands in her pockets, drifting across the room and into the hall. 

"Marceline!" A nasally, rather affronted sounding voice confronts the vampire as she spins on her heel.

"Pepbutt?" She mutters, shooting the butler a rather confused look. 

"So! You've finally come around to own up to what you've done, huh?" He stalks over to the girl whose feet he was currently eye-level with. Marceline had a feeling he would be poking an accusing finger into her chest if he was any higher. 

"Woah there Pep, what did I do?" 

The butler scoffs "well, obviously something! The princess hasn't slept since you wrapped her up in whatever escapade last week! Hasn't left the lab since."

That makes Marceline pause. "Since… since the trip to Maja's? Really?" She mumbles softly, concern knitting across her face. "It's been four days!"

"I'm well aware, so whatever it is you-" the candy butler was cut off as Marceline rushed by him, attention now focused elsewhere as she paid him no mind. 

"Damn it, Bonnie" the vampire hisses, mild concern prickling at her. The princess almost always stopped to rest at three days, but four? Anxiety poked at Marceline's stomach as she pondered the reason behind Bonnibel's current stint in the lab. She didn't get very far before being met with the familiar wrought-iron lab door. Pristine as always, Bonnibel. With a heavy sigh, Marceline pushes the door open, her breath catching as she looks around the room. It looked as if a particularly angry tornado upended and dumped the entirety of a library in Bonnibel's lab. Books and loose-leaf paper were strewn about indiscriminately, half scribbled on and marked with a large sum of colorful sticky notes. The culprit herself was seated at the desk (though there wasn't much desk visible at that point) scribbling furiously in a journal of some kind. 

"Not now, Pep. I've got something good here,I can feel it." The princess didn't take her gaze from the book below her. 

"Actually," Marceline calls from behind her, hovering lazily in the air, "not Pepbutt this time."

After a few moments of silence, Bubblegum realizes who had just spoken to her and stiffens slightly before turning sharpy in her seat. "Marceline!" She sounds uncertainly surprised, voice lilting upwards in a strange way. Marceline compares the tone to the way a cat might sound if it were strangled. It was clumsy, to say the least.

"In the flesh, princess," she winks at that half-heartedly before drifting closer to Bonnie. Marceline squints, inspecting her closely "you look like a mess." 

Bonnie blinks before narrowing her eyes, unnamused "gee, thanks." 

The vampire rolls her eyes, fixing Bonnibel with a pointed look. She wasn't wrong, after all. Bonnie was a wreck. Still, her voice softens ever so slightly "what's wrong, brainiac? Pep says you haven't slept since that trip to Maja's."

Bubblegum shrugs, glancing back over to her pile of notes "I had science stuff."

Marceline's stare is flat. "Right. Science. Bonnie I know you better than that, it's been _four days_."

That causes the candy monarch some pause. "Four? Really. Huh," she rubs the back of her neck, glancing away. "Didn't realize the time."

"Your body sure has, Bon, half these notes are completely unreadable! You're just doing science for science's sake, I know you. What's wrong?" 

Bonnibel bristles, turning away. "It's nothing, Marceline. I have important work to do. Why are you here? Trying to distract me?" Her sentences turn curt and clipped, distant.

Marceline lets out a growl, "well I _was_ here to thank you again for helping me with Hambo but I guess my presence isn't wanted here! So sorry for disturbing you, princess." 

"Wait, Marceline…" Bubblegum's words are quiet, desperate again as she turns to face Marceline. "I… I'm sorry for snapping, I'm just. I'm just a little tired, Marce. Sorry." 

Marceline's face softens as she sighs, drifting back to her place in front of Bonnie. "You haven't slept in four days, Bon. Not since we went to Maja's. What happened? Did Maja do something? Did… I do something?" The vampire's ears twitch imperceptibly, lowering. 

"No! No, Marceline…" she suddenly looks panicked, eyes wide as her head snaps up to look at Marceline "you didn't do anything."

"Then what has you acting like this Bonnie? I swear to Glob if that Maja so much as-"

"Maja didn't do anything either," the princess mumbles, glancing at her feet. "I just… I lost something. Something important to me." 

"We can… go find it?" Marceline tries, tilting her head.

"No, I-" Bonnie sighs, "Maja bought Hambo legally, Marceline." 

The vampire bristles, growling again "Ash stole him from me first! You know that! Maja bought stolen goods."

A sigh and then "I know Marcy, but… I couldn't let myself just _take_ Hambo. It wouldn't have been legal." Bonnibel bites her lip, eyebrows knitting together as she looks away. "I had to trade something for him," she mumbles, quieter "Maja would only settle for something with… more sentimental value. Something for whatever magics she's cooking up." 

Marceline's expression breaks, softening considerably as she moves closer to Bonnie. "You traded for him?" She murmurs, looking down at her. "You did that for me?" 

Bonnie only nods, looking anywhere but Marceline. She feared that if she looked at the vampire then the carefully curated walls around her mind would collapse from the pressure. She felt tears threatening to surface and bit down on her lip to hold them at bay. She really shouldn't be having this conversation when the last time she slept was four days ago and she could feel her emotions resurfacing, too tired to control them properly. She suddenly grew very aware of Marceline's presence mere inches from her.

"What did you trade?" The question is quiet, a mere whisper, but Bonnibel heard the gentle plea it contained. 

The monarch, tired, felt herself break. She looked down, tears winning out and spilling down her cheeks. She rubbed viciously at her eyes with her palm, still refusing to look up at Marceline. It was as if suddenly the absence of the shirt was real. As if before Bonnibel had just been viewing the events as a bystander, throwing herself into her work before she could notice it's absence. Her shoulders shake as she sniffs, cheeks burning. Bonnibel had always hated crying. She felt so weak, so stupid standing there like an idiot. She had just gotten to a friendly point with Marceline, painstakingly navigating through the minefield of her emotions until she could call the vampire her friend again. Now here she is, crying like a fool before her. 

Then she felt the arms circling around her, pressing her so softly to Marceline's chest. Bonnie freezes for a second, going rigid before collapsing against the other woman. Warmth cut through the icy tightness in her stomach as she took a shaky breath. "The rock t-shirt you gave me," she whispers through a gasp. "I traded the shirt." Bonnie's cheeks burn as she buries her head into Marceline's shoulder. Even quieter she mumbles, "I- I can't sleep without it." 

Marceline, flushed, lets out a sigh "come on, princess, let's go." 

Bonnie doesn't put up much of a fuss as the vampire lifts her up bridal style, holding the princess against her chest. She lets out a sigh, tiredly leaning against Marceline's shoulder and blinking deliriously. They pass Peppermint Butler in the hall and he shoots Marceline a look (though Bonnibel doesn't notice him). She can't decide if it was grateful, relieved, or murderous. A little bit of all three is probably the best bet. 

Setting Bonnie down on her bed and taking her lab coat, Marceline sighs. She turns towards the window, only getting a few paces before a hand catches hold of her wrist. The vampire turns, scanning Bonnibel's face for… something. She didn't even know what. All she saw, though, was exhaustion and maybe just a little bit of fear. A breath she didn't need caught in the queen's throat. 

"Stay?" came a mumbled, tired voice.

Marceline bit her lip, wondering for just a second before letting out a breath. "Yeah. Yeah, alright Bonnie." 

Bonnibel felt safer than she had in Glob knows how long curled up in Marceline's arms, the familiar scent of woodsmoke and strawberries greeting her like an old friend. 

Marceline wasn't there when she woke up, but the flannel shirt neatly folded on her nightstand more than made up for it. Perhaps they'd be alright yet. 


End file.
